Message from the Chairman

Welcome to the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University. We are a collaborative group of cardiovascular-trained providers working together to treat patients' disease processes in a more integrated manner than is possible under the traditional academic organizational structure of cardiovascular medicine, cardiovascular surgery and vascular surgery.

We stand out as the source of exceptionally focused, patient-centered care for people throughout eastern North Carolina and beyond. We provide the highest quality therapeutic care for patients with cardiovascular conditions. What's more, we are leaders in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and the rehabilitation back to health of patients with those same disease processes.

As a component of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, we are dedicated to learning and education. We offer fellowships in clinical cardiology, interventional cardiology and surgical robotics, enabling us to spread this advanced outlook to other doctors.

We are committed to making sure those who suffer from cardiovascular disease, whether it's due to smoking, hypertension or other risk factors, receive the best, most appropriate care. That can mean medicine or other interventions when patients become sick, a program of recovery afterward, or steps to prevent illness in the first place. Because our cardiovascular physicians collaborate on these decisions, patients, especially those with chronic disease, benefit from a team approach that creates substantial efficiencies on an ongoing basis.

Because we are an academic center, we are actively engaged in a broad range of clinical and basic sciences research. We are a site-based clinical trials organization, which includes participation in multiple national and international clinical trials in cardiovascular medicine, and cardiothoracic and vascular surgery.

We are one of eight centers in the country participating in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute cardiothoracic surgery trials network. We also participate in basic science research collaborations with the East Carolina University Human Performance Lab and with the university's metabolic institute.

I invite you to spend time reviewing this site and our clinical site (www.ecu.edu/ecuphysicians) to learn more about our programs.